$500M Middletown Energy Center to Be Top Gas Power Plant

The city of Middletown, in Butler County, will be home to one of the most efficient natural gas-fired power plants in the United States. St. Augustine, Fla.-based NTE Energy announced last week its plans to develop, own and operate the power plant, which is expected to provide numerous benefits to the city, county and state economies. The massive project represents an investment of over $500 million.

The city of Middletown, in Butler County, will be home to one of the most efficient natural gas-fired power plants in the United States. St. Augustine, Fla.-based NTE Energy announced last week its plans to develop, own and operate the power plant, which is expected to provide numerous benefits to the city, county and state economies. The massive project represents an investment of more than 500 million.

The plant will be called the Middletown Energy Center. It will use a Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas (MPSA) M501JAC advanced combustion turbine in combined cycle configuration and will generate approximately 500 MW of low-cost electric power, enough to supply 400,000 homes. According to NTE Solutions, the plant will be fueled by clean-burning natural gas, allowing for greater operating efficiencies and as much as 60 percent less emissions than conventional fuel.

NTE Solutions has begun permit applications and hopes to start work on the project in 2015. The Middletown Energy Center is expected to become fully operational in 2018. During the three-year construction period, the project will create 300 to 400 construction jobs, most of them to be filled by the members of skilled trade unions. Once finished, the Middletown Energy Center will employ 25 to 30 full-time workers. Most of them are expected to come from the local workforce.

“As the energy landscape continues to change, the need for affordable, cleaner base load generation is upon us,” said Seth Shortlidge, president of NTE Energy, in a statement for the press. “NTE Energy looks forward to working with the Middletown community in developing one of the cleanest, most efficient and most reliable sources to fulfill this growing demand.”